According to show director, Steven Callaghan, every good B2B exhibition needs a blend of elements to ensure success – is this the secret as to why The Offsite Construction Show will open its doors at ExCeL, London, on the 20th and 21st of November, 2019, for the fifth consecutive year?
Visitors to shows are increasingly demanding in these days of wall to wall information, available at the touch of a button, 24 hours a day, says Steven, “and visiting a show is a big investment of peoples time. To justify this commitment and to get them to repeat it year on year, we have to put together an event that they feel unable to miss out on, where not attending could leave them at a serious professional disadvantage.”
At the core of a trade show are its exhibitors, Steven continues. “A successful show needs to combine a spine of major, established industry suppliers with a sprinkling of new names and, ideally, with both exhibiting some new products – the major reason that all show visitors give for visiting is to see what’s new. The Offsite Construction Show 2019 (OSCS2019) scores heavily in both of these areas.”
Industry and show stalwarts such as Caledonian Modular, Howick, Modular Building Automation, Euroclad, Frameclad SFS, Lindapter, Marley Plumbing & Drainage and Trimble Tekla, along with many show regulars, are joined at the show by legendary construction industry names such as JCB and Sika, both exhibiting at OSCS for the first time. Other companies showing for the first time include Green Life Buildings, Investment Brix, Johnson Tiles, Merlyn, Boomer Industries, Norcros Adhesives and Vado.
“More than a quarter of the show’s total exhibitors are showing for the first time”, says Head of Sales, Maddie Maclellan, with new product offerings being at the heart of the show”.
Maddie continues, “JCB are known throughout the construction industry worldwide but, until now, they are not associated with the Offsite industry, something they intend to change by exhibiting their new telescopic telehandler, the Hydraload 555-210R, at the show.”
JCB’s Senior Product Specialist, Matthew Cockerill said, ”This new telescopic telehandler has been designed with offsite construction in mind, as the company has observed that a greater use of off-site pre-fabrication calls for heavier lift capacities and increased on-site versatility.”
Exhibitor MBA (Modular Building Automation) have been ever present at the show since its inception in 2015 and will be unveiling their brand new steel frame assembly machine at this year’s event. Managing Director, Martin Smith, says that OSCS2019 was the obvious choice for bringing a new offsite construction product to market.
“The Offsite Construction Show has always been a good show for us, so it was clearly the right show for this important launch. The show spans both steel and timber sectors and, historically, attracts a wide audience with a good number of overseas visitors. This is important for us as we offer our equipment worldwide through our network of dealers.”
Education is another important part of the show blend, continues Steven Callaghan.
“OSCS is second to none when it comes to educational features. The seminar program, put together by our associates, buildoffsite, has become well known for its quality, with most sessions being standing room only every year. The show also features build offsite masterclasses and a second CPD Seminar Theatre, with presentations covering a wide range of offsite construction topics.”
Another important part of the blend is the show location and this is another area that OSCS leads the way, according to Maddie Maclellan.
“ExCeL London is the only venue that is located in one of the World’s leading cities that offers fast, easy access for all attendees via the DLR (Docklands Light Railway). Over 95% of our visitors arrive at the show in this way, and we believe it is a key factor not only in the size of our attendance, but also how long visitors remain at the show – a very high proportion of our visitors are still on stands and in the aisles at closing time”, adds Maddie.
The final part of the blend is networking, the ability to interface with ones peers and catch up with the latest news from colleagues old and new and this is an area where OSCS will be innovating in 2019 according to Steven Callaghan.
“Our new Offsite Direct Connect system allows all attendees that register on the system to contact with and be contacted by other attendees to prearrange meetings in special Direct Connect zones throughout the show. It is also possible to arrange meetings on-stand or in another show area such as the Networking Cafe. The software drives the whole process, making it very simple to ensure that you definitely meet up with the people that are on your important list”.
“The 2018 show was attended by 4,000 industry specialists and we look forward to seeing them all again, along with some OSCS first timers coming along to see what all the fuss is about”, concludes Steven Callaghan.
To register for your free show entrance ticket or to check out the details of exhibitors, seminars and masterclasses, please go to the show website.
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